


All the Pretty Diamonds

by spibsy (lucy_and_ramona)



Category: Professional Wrestling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:31:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucy_and_ramona/pseuds/spibsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every time AJ turns a corner, it seems a member of the Shield is attempting to court her. At first, she thinks it's some sort of game, but as it turns out, it's more like a dream becoming reality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the Pretty Diamonds

**Author's Note:**

> Set in May 2013. This is an unapologetic fic about poly negotiation and how much I like AJ Lee. Written for the wrestling big bang which faded into nothing, and none of the fics were claimed by artists, so I'm posting this anyway because I like it a lot. This is written with the assumption that all storylines are set in reality, which is obviously not true, so, as a blanket disclaimer: obviously I don't think any of this actually happened.

AJ's looking at pictures of the Shield. Again.

It's a fairly common occurrence, because AJ likes pretty things, and the Shield is like, a bunch of pretty things, all at once. Like three scoops of ice cream, or like when there’s a sale on shoes and you get three pairs for the price of one.

“I’m gonna get jealous if you’re not careful,” Dolph mumbles from the other side of the bed. It’s not true, of course; he’s barely paying attention to where she’s clicking away on her computer. He’s already tucked up under the covers and playing some game on his phone.

“Shh,” AJ shushes. Dolph is a very understanding person, which AJ is grateful for. Neither of them had wanted to jump into anything too serious, when she was still trying to get over Daniel and he had just gotten out of a catastrophic relationship with Vickie Guerrero. That was six months ago, granted, but what they have works. They travel together, she walks out for Dolph’s matches, and yeah, sometimes there’s sex, because if AJ says so herself, they are two very hot people. 

But Dolph knows the score. The Shield are nice to look at, and AJ likes looking at nice things.

Plus, she’s caught him giving Seth Rollins a second glance or two. Not that she blames him, because, well, _wow_.

Dolph rolls over, resting his head against her hip and sighing heavily. “Have you ever even talked to them?” he asks. “Any of them?”

“You’re kidding, right?” AJ replies, absently running her fingers through his hair. “Have I ever talked to the three people in this company most likely to powerbomb a person through something? Haven’t got around to it yet.”

Snorting, Dolph nuzzles up against her hand. “They haven’t gone after any of the divas. Yet, anyway. Besides, I thought one of the things you liked about them was the – what did you call it? The element of danger.”

“There’s a difference, lovemuffin, between liking a bad boy and being stupid.” AJ boops his nose with a finger. “Someday, they’ll realize that it’s meant to be. I’m sure of it.”

“You gonna pick one?” Dolph asks. His voice is vague and grumbly, because fiddling with his hair always makes him sleepy. AJ thinks it’s just adorable. “Or are you goin’ after all of them and hoping they’re into it?”

“Haven’t decided yet. I’d settle for one, probably.” AJ hums as she reluctantly powers down her computer. She’s seen most of these pictures already, but they don’t get less pretty the second time. “If I had to. Maybe the Shield can be my man-harem. I think I’d like a man-harem. You’d be in my harem, wouldn’t you, Ziggy?”

Her answer is a snore, and AJ sighs. Typical. Still, Dolph would almost definitely be in her harem. He’s a good best friend. She could probably convince Big E to be in it, too. She’s a very convincing person, when she puts her mind to it.

Humming happily, AJ tucks her computer back into its bag, snuggling down into the bed and then against Dolph, because he’s warm and sleepily cuddlable. Maybe she can convince the Shield to marry her without talking to them at all. She’s convincing, but she’s not an idiot, and she’d like to come out of this without being put through any tables.

Maybe she’ll try at RAW tomorrow. It can’t hurt, anyway, as long as she makes sure to stay away from all tables.

As it turns out, she doesn’t even have to try. AJ’s not sure if it’s just her incredible animal magnetism or what. She’s backstage, sitting on top of a crate because Dolph’s getting ready for his match and needs some alone time, which she understands. 

She swings her legs back and forth, heels kicking against the wood of the crate. It’s dark and quiet in this part of the arena, which is what she was going for. AJ doesn’t really have many close friends on the roster. It’s mostly Big E and Ziggy, and she’s fine with that. Who needs friends? She’s gonna have a harem, that’s a lot better than friends.

There’s no noise other than her heels thunking against the crate and her humming, which is why it’s so surprising when a voice speaks from _right next to her_.

“Hi,” says the voice, and AJ shrieks, nearly tumbling off the crate. Not an unreasonable response when you think you’re all alone and all of a sudden a voice speaks up from next to you, especially when you’re really quite little and that’s definitely a _male_ voice, and it’s not Dolph’s or Big E’s.

AJ catches herself at the last minute, digging the heel of her shoe against the grain of the wood and preparing to – she doesn’t know, scream loudly and kick? – when she finally notices who’s next to her.

It’s totally Seth Rollins.

It’s Seth Rollins, standing next to AJ’s crate, dressed for competing in all black with his nice arms and his _hair_ and he’s got a really nice scruffy beard and god, god he’s pretty, he’s so pretty and right next to AJ.

He looks amused. Probably because AJ just nearly broke her neck falling off a crate. Oh, no, he’s going to think she’s a dork. Well, she _is_ a dork, but she didn’t necessarily want Seth Rollins to know that. 

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he says. He’s got a nice voice. AJ hasn’t heard much of him when he’s not shouting, in the ring, and then he sounds all growly and – and hot, she won’t lie – but now his voice is just pleasantly scratchy and. And still hot.

He’s totally lying, anyway. He definitely meant to scare her. They’re in a deserted hallway and he apparently has silent footsteps, so he was going to scare her either way. That’s okay, though. Someone with Seth Rollins’ face is entitled to a little bit of scaring people in hallways.

“That’s okay. No harm done.” AJ laughs, then stops, because there’s no reason to laugh, and it sounded like giggling, to boot, like girlish giggling on a playground when a cute boy talks to you. Which, AJ supposes, is a lot like what’s happening right now. Seth Rollins is a very cute boy.

“Still. Shouldn’t’ve snuck up on you like that.” Rollins, or Seth, she’s never talked to him, so she doesn’t know what to call him, aside from dreamy. “I don’t think we’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking before. I’m Seth,” he says, offering his hand. Well, that solves one problem.

“AJ, I’m AJ.” She moves to shake his hand, but instead he shifts the grip he has on her hand and kisses the backs of her fingers, and she’s giggling again, oh no.

“I know who you are. Big fan of you.” He smiles at her, leaning his hip against her crate. “I’m impressed. Your in-ring work is impeccable.”

“Oh, oh shut up,” AJ says, flapping her hands a little. It just comes out, and maybe it’s a terrible thing to say to a member of the Shield, but her face is bright red, she just knows it. “You – Yours too, you’re really good, I never miss any of your matches. The Shield, I mean.”

“Is that a fact?” Seth seems interested to hear that, folding his arms across his chest. It makes his biceps look fantastic. Everything about him looks fantastic. “We’ve got a match later tonight, you know. You planning on watching?”

AJ nods frantically. “Of course! I wouldn’t miss it!” she exclaims. Too much? Probably a little too much. Seth doesn’t look freaked out, though, still just vaguely amused. Well, amused is better than terrified, most of the time. “I should probably be getting back to the locker room, anyway. I think Ziggy’s match is next.”

“Right, right, it is.” Seth shifts away from the crate, his movements fluid, graceful. Oh, she really wants to know if he’s that graceful all the time. “Guess I should let you get going, then.”

“Yeah.” AJ sighs. Dolph had better appreciate this. She is ending a conversation with _Seth Rollins_ for him. “I’ll be watching your match later, though!” she adds, giving him a smile.

He laughs, and it’s soft and rumbly and makes AJ shiver a little. “I’ll keep that in mind while I’m out there. For good luck.” He winks at her.

 _He winks at her_.

AJ almost faints. Instead, she bobs her head in a nod, feeling a little like one of those bobble head dolls they sell at the merch stands. 

There’s a noise down the hall, quiet, deliberate, and AJ peers over Seth’s shoulder to see his tag team partners probably about twenty feet from them. Reigns is standing with his arms folded, looking generally intimidating, while Ambrose is leaning against the wall. As she looks, Ambrose pops his gum, and holds up his wrist, tapping it like he would if there was a watch there.

“That’s my cue.” Rollins shoots two fingers back at Ambrose, who nods. They have their own little silent language. That’s, that’s unbearably cute, really, and it shouldn’t be, not considering that they’re three very scary men. Very scary cute men. Just AJ’s type. “Guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

Oh, he will definitely be seeing her around. But she’s got to stay cool. Stay cool, AJ. “Yeah, I hope so.” That was smooth, wasn’t it? She gives Seth a coy look, hopping off the crate onto her feet. “Hope your match goes well.”

He gives her this smirky smile thing, and it’s very unfair. It’s extremely unfair. “Oh, it will.” He tips an imaginary hat at her. “Miss Lee,” are his parting words. AJ swoons. She’s unashamed. She totally swoons, and what’s more, she can tell that Reigns saw her swoon because his lips are twitching like he’s trying not to smile. She’s really glad Seth’s back is to her. At least he didn’t see it.

Reigns is probably telling him about it right now, though, because his lips are moving but he’s talking too quietly for her to hear. Whatever he says, Seth glances over his shoulder at her, and AJ chances a little wave. He gives her a little wave back, then turns back to his partners. He doesn’t talk as quietly as Reigns, but still quietly enough that all she hears is mumbling. And then – no, she definitely just heard the word ‘cute’. Seth definitely just said the word ‘cute’ right after he looked at her.

All of AJ’s dreams are coming true at once, like she’s in a really weird Disney movie.

Well, if cute is what she is, then cute is what she’ll be. AJ flicks her hair over her shoulders and lifts her chin a little, skipping down the hallway. She has to pass them to get back to the locker room area, anyway, might as well make a grand exit.

There’s at least one pair of eyes on her, she can feel them on her back once she’s passed them. Good. Let them look. Once they’re in her harem, they’ll be looking at her anyway.

Dolph’s match goes well. He’s tagging with Big E, so she’d known it would. They’re good partners, good friends, and AJ’s still on a Seth Rollins high, so she doesn’t pay much attention to the match other than to move out of the way when someone’s about to be dumped on top of her and then to cheer and hop in the ring when her boys win. 

“What’s with you?” Dolph asks in between cute little celebratory kisses pressed to her lips. “You were out of it the whole match.”

“I’m sorry,” AJ apologizes, feeling a flash of guilt. If she’d been needed to interfere in the match, she wouldn’t have known at all. “I’ll tell you when we get back to our room. Oh!” she remembers, turning to Big E to give him a happy you-won-your-match! hug. “I meant to ask you, E, you’d be in my harem if I asked you to be, right?”

They’re going up the ramp now, too slow for her to skip without leaving the others behind, she notices with a frown. To his credit, Big E barely bats an eye at her question. That’s good, means he’s getting used to her.

“Yeah, sure.” He shrugs, knocking AJ’s ribs lightly with his elbow. He narrows his eyes suspiciously. “Will I have to wear glitter?”

“Probably,” AJ replies with great cheer. No harem’s complete without glitter in questionable places. 

Big E sighs. “I guess. Only ‘cause I like you, babygirl.” He catches AJ in another hug, giving her a squeeze before he heads into the locker room next to hers and Dolph’s. Too many times accidentally walking in on them in a compromising position means he doesn’t share with them anymore.

Dolph’s still panting a little with adrenaline from the match, and he flings himself into a chair before pulling AJ down to straddle his lap. “You gonna tell me what was up with you?” he mumbles against her neck.

His beard is tickling her, so she laughs, and weaves her fingers through his hair, holding him where he is. “I had a little talk with someone before the match,” she says, letting her feet dangle in the air. It’s fun letting Dolph hold all of her weight like this. She likes feeling floaty, flighty, flirty.

“Oh?” Dolph laces his fingers behind the small of AJ’s back to hold her steady as he leans back to give her an indulgent smile. “May I ask, with whom?”

AJ beams at him. “You may ask,” she responds in kind. “Seth Rollins.”

Dolph looks dutifully impressed, which is just one of the reasons he’s the very best friend in the world ever. “Really? You got up the nerve? Was he with the other two?”

“Nope. Well, not at first.” AJ rushes out the whole sordid tale. Well, it’s not really sordid. But it has the potential to become sordid. She concludes, “and so he’s going to be in my harem, I think. Isn’t that fun?”

“Did you tell him about the harem?” Dolph asks. During her story, his hands have shifted, one pushing her farther onto his lap so that she doesn’t fall off while the other is pressed up the back of her shirt, stroking her back lightly. It’s very soothing. 

“Well, no. But he thinks I’m cute! I mean, probably. He thinks I’m cute, right?” AJ asks, a little panicky until Dolph hurriedly reassures her by kissing her nose.

“Of course he thinks you’re cute. Impossible not to.” Dolph pulls her into a quick hug, and she happily snuggles into it. “I’m sure he’ll be in your harem.”

“Good. It’s not much of a harem if it’s just you and E. Not that you and E aren’t perfectly adequate,” she adds, “just that I don’t think that counts as a harem. That’d just be a threesome.” Which is another thought for another day.

“It’ll work out,” Dolph promises. He kisses her sweetly one more time and then leans his forehead against hers. “I gotta shower, I’m gross. You wanna join?”

Very tempting, but… “Not tonight, honeybuns. I think I’ll find some mischief to get into and then I’ll meet you at the car.”

Dolph sulks a little, playfully, then helps her slide back off his lap. “Okay, babe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He gives her ass a light smack and her head a kiss and then trudges off into the shower that connects to the room.

The way AJ figures, that gives her maybe twenty minutes to see if she can find something to do. She’s twitchy like she gets when she wants a good fight or a good fuck, and maybe she should’ve joined Dolph, but shower sex really isn’t as fun as it sounds. Very messy. And slippery. Not in the fun way.

So either she can see if one of the other divas are still there (none of them really like her, which means any of them would probably be willing to fight her) or she can just wait until they get back to the hotel, where Dolph will be only too happy to help her out.

Wandering seems to be the answer in any case, so AJ grabs her bag which just has her wrestling gear in it and pulls it over her shoulder, heading out the door to begin a good skip down the hall.

Her skip doesn’t last long, however, because she nearly breaks her neck for the second time that night when she runs headlong into what feels like a slightly soft brick wall.

She bounces off and skids, arms pinwheeling, certain she’s going to fall until a strong hand grips her wrist and pulls her upright.

And damn it, it’s Roman Reigns, because she hasn’t embarrassed herself in front of _every_ member of the Shield tonight and the universe is out to get her.

“You okay?” he asks in his deep voice. He’s the big strong shouty one, so he kind of scares her (not as much as Dean Ambrose scares her, to be fair, because Dean Ambrose has this way of looking at people like he’s thinking of all the ways he could wear their skin) but he’s not shouting right now, so AJ timidly nods.

“Sorry about running into you,” she says. Her voice is kind of wavery, but that’s reasonable. Roman Reigns is a very large man and AJ is very attracted to him and he saw her swoon like an hour ago.

“I wasn’t looking where I was going.” His voice is so _deep_ and smooth and lovely, when it’s not shouting. AJ is in so much trouble. Reigns is calmly assessing her with his eyes and it feels a bit like he can see all the way to her soul. “It’s not your fault at all.”

“It is a little bit.” AJ laughs, nervously, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. “Skipping through the halls is asking for trouble.”

The corners of Reigns’ mouth turn up, in what actually looks like a smile, a real one. It changes his face. “Well, I won’t argue with you there. It does seem to be your preferred mode of travel, though.”

This might be the most words AJ’s ever heard Reigns say. Ambrose has a tendency to be the mouthpiece of the group and Rollins – Seth – occasionally jumps in with a remark or two, but AJ’s only ever heard Reigns speak at length a few times in the eight-or-so months that the Shield have been part of the main roster.

“It’s fun,” she replies promptly. “And fast, and I’m short, so I’ve got to be fast to keep up with other people.” AJ’s tilting her head so far back to look Roman Reigns in the eye that her neck hurts a little bit. 

Reigns smiles at her, and AJ comes perilously close to swooning again. He raises his eyebrows a little, casting a glance over her shoulder. “Waiting on your… boyfriend?” he asks, and it’s definitely a question in more ways than one.

AJ bobs her head in what’s kind of a nod. “Ziggy and E are washing up.” She hesitates a second and then decides, oh, what the hell, “He’s not really – I wouldn’t call him my _boyfriend_ , exactly.”

The way Reigns’ eyes lock on her then is a thing AJ will still be getting goosebumps over when she’s fifty.

“Oh?” he asks, silky smooth. Is it her imagination, or is he closer than he was at the beginning of this conversation? “What would you call him, then?”

AJ isn’t sure why, but she’s pretty positive that she needs to answer that question very carefully. Not that she’s gotten the impression that he’ll, like, attack her if she answers wrong. It’s more like… like there are multiple answers that he would accept, but only one he’d _prefer_.

“You know, he’s my best friend,” she says, mindful to keep her tone as casual as she can.

Reigns flicks his eyes toward the monitor in the next room, visible through the open door. It’s currently showing a replay of AJ and Dolph’s post-match celebration in the ring. “Seems like a pretty enthusiastic celebration for friends,” he notes, calmly taking in the way screen-AJ is swallowing Dolph’s face.

She is really not attractive from that angle. AJ tilts her head. Maybe she should figure out something to do about that.

Not important right now. AJ shrugs again. “We’re best friends who do a lot of things together. But that doesn’t mean we… _only_ do things together. You know?” She tries to blink cutely, if that’s possible. “Haven’t you ever kissed one of your friends?”

Reigns doesn’t get a chance to respond before a sharp whistle comes from down the hallway behind AJ. She looks over her shoulder, thinking it might be Dolph or E, but it’s not. It’s Seth Rollins. He does the same thing Dean Ambrose did earlier, tapping the spot on his wrist where a watch would be, but he also holds up two fingers and then adds a wave at the end, giving AJ a grin that actually makes her knees tremble.

“Looks like I’ll have to give you the answer to that question at a later date.” Reigns, as AJ looks back at him, shoots one finger at Seth, which he follows by folding his hand into a fist. It’s more of that silent language they have, and it’s still pretty adorable, even if she doesn’t know what it means. ‘I’ll be right there,’ she assumes.

“I’ll look forward to it,” AJ responds, smiling at him and shoving the strap of her bag higher up her shoulder. “It was nice talking to you… Roman,” she says, throwing caution to the wind. It seems like the right decision, because Reigns actually smiles back, offering her a hand, which she shakes.

“Not as nice as it was talking to you,” he says in return. He nods at her, one bob of his head, and then slips past to join Seth. AJ feels slightly creepy about watching them go, but not enough to stop her from doing it.

Before the two men turn the corner, Roman’s hand slides down the length of Seth’s back, in a movement that makes AJ feel oddly like an intruder on a private moment. It’s casually possessive, and even though Roman’s hand doesn’t remain on Seth’s lower back, it’s very… intimate, is the word AJ wants to use. 

Roman’s gaze catches hers one last time, his eyes dark and amused, and AJ thinks she has her answer without Roman saying a word.

AJ thinks about that moment for the rest of the night, trying to analyze the memory of it from different angles, considering the implications while she’s in the shower, while she’s trying to get to sleep, on the trip to the arena for the SmackDown taping. Dolph asks more than once what’s on her mind, but she wants to keep this close to the belt for the time being, so she doesn’t tell him. Dolph is a darling, so he leaves her alone about it after that, but she knows he’s still wondering.

The only conclusions AJ comes to make no sense, is the thing. She’s almost positive that Seth was flirting with her, and he called her cute, and Roman had been – unduly interested in her relationship status, but if they were both, if that was something that was happening, why would they be expressing interest in _her_?

AJ knows she’s hot, but if _she_ was sleeping with Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns, she wouldn’t exactly go looking for someone else to hook up with.

And then there’s how she just happened to run into both of them in the same night. AJ could buy, maybe, running into one or the other, but the Shield aren’t the most social people on the roster. Mostly one only sees them in a pack of three, when they’re attacking Randy Orton or Daniel Bryan (which she still gets a pretty nice sense of satisfaction out of) or John Cena. Other than that, they don’t go off on their own, and they don’t _talk_ to people.

They definitely don’t talk to people _one on one_.

So, if they all of a sudden want to talk to her, it’s no coincidence. Seth Rollins _planned_ to talk to her in that hallway, and somehow, Roman Reigns _planned_ to be there for her to run into at the end of the show. She just… doesn’t know why. She can’t figure out what their endgame is.

What she does know is that if there’s a plot in place, there’s one more person she can hold directly responsible, and she has to expect that it’s only a matter of time before they cross paths.

AJ is considering this point further while she wanders backstage at SmackDown. She doesn’t have a match tonight, even though she should, as the best female wrestler in the damn company, but that’s alright. She’ll accompany Dolph to the ring for his match and bide her time, because it’s only a matter of waiting it out until she can go for the championship.

Another arena, another barren hallway. AJ likes empty hallways because it makes it easy to keep up with her thoughts, when the only other thing she can hear is her footsteps as she paces one foot in front of the other, one-two-three-four-five-turn, one-two-three-four-five-turn.

Except that’s not the only sound AJ hears. She stops mid-step, closes her eyes, holds her breath, and listens. Yeah, there’s definitely somebody else in the hallway.

If it’s Kaitlyn, AJ’s going to kick her ass. If it’s one of the male wrestlers, she’ll probably still try to kick their ass. A vague plan, but all she’s got.

She whirls around, bringing a hand up to punch if she needs to, and only just manages to keep from driving it into the face of the guy who was standing behind her.

It’s Dean Ambrose.

AJ frowns, and speaks before he has a chance to. “Okay, what’s your endgame?”

To his credit, Ambrose doesn’t look surprised, particularly. He just raises an eyebrow at her, and then tilts his head in question.

“Endgame?” he asks. His hair’s not slicked back for the show yet, and the way it’s half-falling in his face makes him look younger. Less terrifying, in a way.

Which is good, because AJ’s brain has just caught up with her mouth, and she’s realized that a mildly less terrifying Dean Ambrose is still pretty freaking scary.

Still, she’s never been one to back down from something just because it frightens her. She laughs in the face of danger and all that. Or at least speaks to danger and hopes it isn’t mean to her.

“Yeah. Endgame. What’s yours?” she asks. Her voice doesn’t even shake. That much.

His mouth quirks sideways and he leans his hip against the wall. The way he’s standing uses his shoulder to keep their conversation boxed in, his posture radiating stay-away vibes. Not that AJ knows of anybody who would casually join a conversation between herself and Dean Ambrose.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He folds his arms across his chest, and smiles at her.

It’s not exactly a nice smile, and AJ feels a shiver roll down her spine. The only thing that keeps her from making a run for it (she’s brave, not an idiot) is the fact that it’s not exactly a _mean_ smile, either.

Whatever kind of smile it is, it’s not innocent, and it’s not oblivious, and it’s not honest. He knows exactly what she’s talking about, the _liar_.

AJ holds up her hand to tick off points on her fingers. It seems to amuse him.

One finger. “I’ve never spoken to a member of the Shield before yesterday.” Two fingers. “All of a sudden, I’ve got Seth Rollins showing up in my hallway.” Three fingers. “I – _skipped_ into Roman Reigns.” A fourth finger. “And now you’re here, talking to me, when as far as I know, we’re not acquainted.” She adds her thumb and waves her hand at him before realizing she looks kind of stupid. “And that’s all in the last two days.” She folds her arms across her chest, mirroring Ambrose. “Are we playing a game? Because I only like games when I’m the one making the rules.”

Ambrose laughs, a quiet, huffing chuckle that oddly suits him. “Did you breathe at all during that?” he asks. He appears to be genuinely asking, as much as a member of the Shield can appear to be genuinely anything.

AJ’s shoulders twitch up once, in a not-quite-shrug. “Want answers, talk quickly.”

“Mm. Good philosophy.” Ambrose is still giving her that weird half-smile. “What question did you want an answer to?”

AJ narrows her eyes at him. “Don’t treat me like an idiot, Ambrose. There is a plan, and if there’s a plan, it’s your plan.”

“Why’s it got to be my plan?” Ambrose asks. AJ wants him to stop smiling, but she doesn’t actually know what’ll happen when he does. “And you should call me Dean.”

“Well, _Dean_ ,” AJ begins, “You’re all obviously intelligent men, but you are the ringleader. You’re the one who makes plans, Seth is the one who tells you they’re stupid plans, and Roman is the one who fixes your plans.” Her voice is rising to a shriek, so she clears her throat and calms herself. “So, if there _is_ a plan, it’s your plan, happening because you want it to happen.”

He’s not smiling anymore. Instead, he’s looking at her with a combination of surprise and… yes, that’s definitely satisfaction.

“Very perceptive,” he says quietly. “You’re not as crazy as you let people think you are, are you?”

AJ can’t hold back her smile at that. “You’re one to talk,” she says. “No. I’m smart. People are afraid of me because they don’t know what I’ll do next. But I’m perfectly sane. Just…” She pauses to consider what the right word is. “Unpredictable.”

“That you are.” Ambrose – Dean – has started smiling again, but this one seems somehow pleased. “I admire that. Not just in you, though you’ve got it down to an art.”

“I’m flattered,” states AJ dryly. “Now that we’ve established that I’m mentally sound, I’d appreciate you telling me why I’m tripping over cute boys in riot gear all of a sudden.”

“Oh, are we cute boys?” Dean asks, completely avoiding her actual question. Typical man. Only concerned with compliments.

AJ gives him another pointed look, which he also ignores. “You were until you started avoiding my question. Your cute levels are going down by the second.”

He looks concerned. Asshole. He really is cute, though in a serial killer kind of way. Very charming. She’s charmed.

“Let’s not do anything drastic.” He holds his hands up in a truce. “Like I said, I just wanted to talk to you. Thought it was about time. You had pretty civil conversations with Roman and Seth.”

“Which you know about, of course,” AJ replies. “Probably in detail, if I’m reading you right.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “I get the feeling you don’t often read people incorrectly.”

AJ shrugs a shoulder. “It’s a rarity, but it has happened.”

“I’ll be straight with you here,” Dean says. He glances over his shoulder and steps closer to AJ, which is an accomplishment in itself, considering how close they already were. “We like you,” he says bluntly. “And you like us, clearly. So we have a proposal for you.”

AJ can’t feel her face. “A… proposal?” she asks faintly.

“A proposal,” he confirms He’s smirking. Prick. Good-looking, charming prick. “Would’ve made it a while ago, but we were under the impression that you had… prior engagements.”

“Oh.” What a delicate way to say that they’d thought she and Dolph were exclusive. “Well. Can’t blame you, I guess.”

Dean’s eyes flash over her shoulder, and then his expression changes. Not much, just a tightening around his eyes and the corners of his mouth.

“We can talk more later,” he says smoothly. Must be someone he doesn’t want hearing their conversation. So… someone other than Roman or Seth. “Here.”

He presses something square and hard into her hand. It’s a familiar feel and shape: hard, thin plastic. “342,” he tells her under his breath. And then he’s just gone, like she hasn’t gone numb over her entire body.

She stares down at the hotel key card in her hand, one that matches the one back in her bag in the locker room.

Dean Ambrose just gave her a key to his hotel room, she thinks.

This is not at all how she expected her day to go.

She’s not sure how she manages to get back to the locker room, because she doesn’t remember _walking_ there, just staring at the card in her hand and then looking up to see Ziggy warming up for his match.

“Hey, babe,” he greets, grinning at her. He really is her best friend. He’s her best lots of things.

“Hey,” she replies, accepting his kiss to her cheek. “D’you think you can take a break for a minute? I wanna talk.”

“Ominous,” says Dolph, shoving his hair back. He rolls his shoulders in little circles, the smile still on his face but tempered by concern. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s great, I just – something just happened and I don’t know what to do,” she blurts. Dolph moves to hug her, ducking his head to catch her eye and make sure it’s okay. Of course it’s okay, it’s always okay, even if Dolph is sort of sweaty and gross when he folds his arms around her.

“I think the Shield want to be in my harem,” she mumbles against his shoulder. His hand pauses where it’s rubbing her back, but then continues on once he’s taken in that information. “Like actively.”

“So why’re you freakin’ out?” Dolph asks, looking behind him and then carefully lowering the both of them onto the sofa. “I would’ve thought you’d be like, dancing and singing and tweeting about it.”

“I don’t sing,” mutters AJ. “It’d drive all the cute boys off in droves.”

“Didn’t drive me off, did it? I’ve heard you singing Backstreet Boys in the shower.”

“No, but like, I didn’t think we were only sleeping with each other but what if we were?” AJ asks, rushing it all out so that she doesn’t lose her nerve or do something stupid like start crying. “And then I have a harem of cute boys and you’re not one of them?”

“Seriously?” Dolph wants to know. He leans back enough to smooth her hair back from her face, kissing her forehead. “Babe, I’m always gonna be in your harem of cute boys. I want you to be happy. ‘Cause I love you. That’s what you want when you love someone, right? For them to be the happiest they can be?”

“So you won’t stop being my Ziggy?” AJ requests, curling her arms around his neck. He hugs her back just as tightly as he always does.

“I’ll be your Ziggy as long as you’ll be my favorite babe.” He boops her nose. “So for a really long time, got it?”

AJ giggles. “Yeah. Got it.”

“Good.” Dolph kisses her head again. “I gotta match. You wanna walk me out?”

“Yeah, of course.” AJ smiles, squeezing the key card that she still has in her hand. The edges of it dig into her palm, and she makes sure to tuck it into a side pocket of her duffle bag before she changes. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Right?

Of course, that’s not right at all. Even while she’s cheering Dolph on at ringside, her mind’s still on the Shield, and that plastic card, and whether or not this can actually be the life she’s living.

Dean Ambrose winks at her when she goes past him after Dolph’s match. It still makes her go fluttery and stupid inside.

She tries not to rush through her post-match ritual, but it’s hard when she knows that she’s going to be searching out Dean Ambrose’s hotel room. For all she knows, it’s the hotel room for all of the Shield, actually. She doesn’t know what Dean’s role in the Rollins-Reigns relationship is, but considering they’re all apparently interested in a… something, with her, she doesn’t think it’s too out of line to wonder if maybe all three of them are involved with each other.

It would explain why they’re only ever seen around each other. 

Hmm. Hot.

“Do I get the hotel room to myself tonight, then?” Dolph pops his head into her shower, already dressed and ready to go. “If you’re gonna be boinkin’ the Shield?”

AJ throws a bar of soap at him. “Shut up!” she exclaims, rinsing the last of her shampoo from her hair. “I don’t know. I just know he asked me to come to his hotel room. I don’t know what’s gonna happen then. I might come back to our room if it turns out they just wanna play Monopoly.”

She muses on the potential hilarity there. “Or maybe not.”

“I’ll probably just get a movie in our room, then. You can come back whenever.” He watches her thoughtfully. “D’you want me to walk you there? It’s late.”

“I’ll be in the hotel.” With a lot of their co-workers, many of whom don’t like her. “On second thought, yeah, maybe.” She gives him a smile. “Thanks, hon.”

“Course.” He flashes her his million dollar grin, the one he uses to make the ladies swoon and the guys in the crowd on RAW wish they had his charm. “Gotta be there for my favorite babe.”

‘’You’re a schmuck,” she replies, turning her water off and grabbing her towel to wrap around. “Are you gonna watch me change?” she asks, faking sternness.

Dolph gives her a suggestive look, but pops back around the edge of the divider.

Her nerves get worse as they load into the car, her hair dried and her makeup freshly applied much more lightly than she does for the show. “What if they change their minds?” she rambles to Dolph in the driver’s seat. “Or what if it’s just wishful thinking? What if they read my diary?”

“I don’t think they read your diary,” he answers, calm enough that it manages to calm her down a little as well. “Where would they have gotten it from? Only people who know where it is are you and me.” He quirks a little sideways smile at her. “And I didn’t tell Dean Ambrose you have weird dreams about him and me.”

AJ narrows her eyes at him. “Your complexions would look wonderful together,” she says primly. “If I can get this to happen at any point, I will consider mine a life well-lived.”

“Well, you probably have more of an in than I do.” Dolph barely blinks. It’s things like that that make AJ love him so very dearly. “Work your magic.”

“My magic will be worked.” AJ leans over the gearshift to kiss his cheek once the car stops. “Do I look okay? Not trying too hard but also not like I don’t care. Because I do care. I care a lot.”

“You look perfect.” Dolph tips her chin up with a finger. “And if any of them make you feel like you’re not I’ll kill them, but not before you knock them dead.” He turns off the engine, popping open the trunk with the button on the keyring and then pocketing it. “Ready?”

“No,” AJ grumbles, but sparks are fizzling through her veins and the night is sparkling above her and she’s as ready as she’ll ever be.

Dolph hoists both of their bags onto his shoulder, giving her a questioning look. “Anything you need out of here or do you want me to take it back to our room?”

“I’m still not positive we won’t just end up playing Scrabble.” AJ sighs and shrugs. “Should I just take my whole bag? Do I look too obvious then? Is that too obvious if I don’t bring my bag with me?”

“AJ. Babe.” Dolph takes her hand, squeezing it in his own. “You’re overthinking it. Here, when we get there, I’ll give you your bag and get out of there. Your bag has your phone in it, and I’m a text away. If you wanna leave, I can come get you.”

The air in AJ’s lungs comes out in a whoosh. “Right. Right, okay. No need to be nervous. I am awesome. I am the best. Let’s light ‘em up.”

Dolph doesn’t let go of her hand he whole way into the hotel, and he keeps holding it while they’re in the elevator. He only lets go once they’re walking down the hallway to grab her bag off his shoulder and offer it to her. “We’re a floor up from this one, okay? Don’t be nervous.” He pecks her on the cheek and she makes sure to give him an extra good hug before he jogs off down the hallway.

Right. She’s on her own now.

Not much different to how she’s spent the rest of her life. She’ll deal with it.

342\. 342. 342. _There_.

Hefting her bag higher on her shoulder, AJ hesitates before knocking. He probably wouldn’t have given her a key to his room if he didn’t want her using it, but she doesn’t want to take any chances.

There’s a minute where she can only assume she’s being inspected through the peep-hole, and then a click as the door opens. 

It’s Dean. He leans against the doorjamb with one shoulder, giving her a calm appraisal.

“You didn’t use the card,” he notes.

AJ shrugs. “Wasn’t sure if it’d be rude or not,” she admits. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

All at once, his face breaks into something that’s not quite a smile. “You’re still here,” he agrees. He jerks his head back toward the rest of the room. “C’mon in. The gang’s all here.”

The gang is indeed all there when AJ ducks past Dean into the room. The click of it latching behind her is a little frightening, but she’s immediately distracted by the sight of Seth and Roman.

There are two beds in the room, both with mussed sheets but only one currently being used. Seth and Roman are on one, Roman on his back and Seth curled into his side like a Beagle napping on a Newfoundland. Seth’s not wearing a shirt. Roman’s hand is trailing lightly up and down his back, and while Seth’s eyes are closed, Roman’s are looking right at AJ.

AJ takes all of this in at once, her eyes flicking from one bed to the other, from Roman to Seth and then back to Dean, who is offering her another one of those challenging eyebrows.

Well, she’s not about to be scared away by some hot boy-canoodling. She hitches her bag up again, tilts her chin into the air a little, and makes her way over to the second bed, sitting cross-legged on the edge of it and bouncing once.

“So,” she says, meeting Dean’s eyes. “What’s all this about?”

She feels like she’s completed a task she didn’t know was being set, as Dean settles himself at the foot of his bed with a small smile. AJ’s just noticed that he isn’t wearing the typical Shield uniform of black-on-black. Instead, he has on a plain white t-shirt and jeans. He’s barefoot. Somehow that’s the weirdest part.

“Right down to brass tacks. I like it.” Dean has one leg dangling off the bed, the other curled underneath him. AJ wonders if maybe he’s done this on purpose, making himself seem less intimidating than he actually is. It’s only half-working – there’s no real way for her to completely lower her guard when she’s seen what he does in the ring, and out of it. He’s dangerous, and the air of crackling potential around him doesn’t ever go away.

But he does look softer. Like someone who might prefer a hug to a punch.

Or maybe she really is as crazy as everyone says.

“Just a sec,” Dean continues, giving Roman what must be a significant look. Roman nods back, and gives Seth a little shake until he snuffles against Roman’s chest, completing the puppy metaphor that was taking place in AJ’s head. She thinks it might seem condescending to _aww_ out loud at him.

"AJ's here," murmurs Roman. Before speaking to him, AJ never would've thought of him as being the type to murmur. He just doesn't look like his voice should be able to go that soft and soothing. 

Seth rubs a fist over his eye like he's six years old and then when he sits up, his abs ripple, thus proving that he's definitely not six years old and also making AJ tingle in interesting places. He gives her a smile, still sleepy at the corners, and a wave.

"Hey," he says. "Sorry, I, uh, I sleep a lot."

AJ wouldn't have guessed that, but it's interesting all the same. Actually, if pressed, she probably would've guessed that nobody in the Shield ever sleeps at all. Her guess would've been strategizing into the wee hours of the morning and then going to the gym.

"Anyway," Dean intervenes. "You were wondering why we asked you here."

"Uh, yeah, it'd be nice to know," AJ says. It's more difficult to open her mouth and talk when they're all looking at her. She's only dealt with them one on one before, for the most part, and this is making her a little lightheaded. "I'm not really sure what you could want that I could deliver, unless you want a valet or something." Or blowjobs. She could help with that, too. If they needed it.

Roman huffs a little laugh, but doesn't say anything. AJ gets the impression Dean is going to do most of the talking here. Whether that's because he's the leader of the group or because they know she _perceives_ him as the leader of the group, she doesn't know. It could just be that he's the best at talking.

"We don't need a valet, but we wouldn't be opposed to the idea, if you were looking for a change in scenery," says Dean. He raises his eyebrows. "Got the impression you were pretty happy with Ziggler and Langston, and we don't want to make things difficult for you."

"I am happy walking out with them," AJ confirms. "And -- if I'm being honest, I don't think you need the extra help at ringside. Even in six-man tags, you can take care of yourselves just fine. I think I'd only get in the way."

"We had considered that," Dean says, nodding. "As long as you're happy where you are, that's fine with us. We don't have any issues with Ziggler, and we don't anticipate having any. No conflict of interest for you."

"So... if you don't want me to be at ringside, what do you want me for?" She knows what she wants them to want her for, but for all she knows, they just know she's the authority on Chuck Taylors and they're looking to expand their wardrobes.

Dean leans back, bracing himself with one hand on the bedspread. "We've been paying attention to you," he says. It would sound way creepy if he wasn't so matter-of-fact about it. "Your in-ring work is amazing, and we like your attitude. You've got drive, and ambition, and you're real fuckin' cute."

AJ opens her mouth and then closes it again. Dean keeps talking.

"We like you," he states, blunt, putting it out there, "and we don't work unless we work together. That's not how the Shield does things." He pauses again, and then says, with a pointed expression. "We _share_."

“You share,” AJ says slowly. “So you share, like… everything?” This is starting to sound like all her dreams coming true at once.

Dean has that little smile on his face again. “Everything,” he confirms. “So what I’m saying here is that we’d like you to consider being our girlfriend.”

Okay. AJ’s immediate thought is, right, yes, okay, where do I sign up? But she needs to think about this for more than a second, even If it seems like something right out of one of her fantasies.

“So,” she says, drawing the word out in order to scramble some semblance of coherent thought together, “What would this entail?”

“Whatever you want it to entail.” That’s not Dean, that’s Seth’s voice, and AJ jerks her head around to see him draped over Roman’s chest and watching her closely. “We’re not gonna push you into anything you don’t want. You don’t have to say yes, if you don’t want to.” He flashes her a grin. “We’d just really like it if you did.”

Whatever she wants. There’s no way this can actually be happening. This is just a really detailed dream, and she’s going to wake up. She tries to discreetly pinch her leg. Ouch. And she doesn’t wake up. Real, then. Wow.

“You don’t have to stop doing whatever you do with Ziggler.” Dean shrugs. “Again, we don’t have a problem with him, and you’re obviously close, so.”

It _sounds_ like in this deal, AJ gets three boyfriends (three-and-a-half, if you include Dolph, who isn’t her boyfriend but is her booty call of sorts) and none of them are going to squeal if they accidentally touch each other while they’re naked. It sounds like the sort of deal she’s wanted since she was about seventeen.

“What’s the catch?” There has to be a catch. There’s no way this whole thing just fell into her lap. “Did someone put you up to this?”

Dean looks genuinely surprised. “Uh, you might’ve noticed we don’t have a lot of friends in this company. Who would put us up to it? There’s no catch, unless you’re violently opposed to the idea of two guys touching a little.”

“No!” It bursts out of AJ’s mouth before she can stop it. She clears her throat, folding her hands in her lap and looking at her own knee rather than the stupid smug look on Dean’s stupid smug face. “I mean, uh. No, that’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“Good to know.” He even _sounds_ smug. “We’ll keep that in mind. You don’t have to make the decision now, by the way. We’d get it if you wanted to take a few days to think it over.”

“I probably should,” AJ says. It’s a wonder she can still manage words when her lips are numb. “But, uh. I’m not really seeing any cons.”

Dean shrugs again, folding his arms across his chest. “We have a lot of enemies,” he says calmly. “You’d probably have to keep it quiet, for the most part. I know you can handle yourself against any of the women in your division and a hell of a lot of the guys, but if someone like Randy Orton decided to go after you, it’d be a different story.”

“I don’t mind secrecy,” AJ says. That much she knows. “You might’ve noticed, I’ve had a few… high profile relationships. I’m over that. The public eye’s too cruel for my liking. As long as I can tell Dolph and maybe E, I don’t mind keeping mum.”

She watches them exchange glances. “That’s fine,” Dean agrees. We’ll let you know before we tell anyone. We don’t have a lot of friends, like we mentioned, but we’re on good terms with CM Punk, if that’d be a problem.”

“I don’t have any more problems with him,” she says carefully. “I don’t know if the reverse is true, but if you wanted to tell him, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.” They exchange another round of looks. “I think that’s all. Like I said, you don’t have to decide now.”

“I have, anyway.” AJ sets her shoulders. “We obviously have common interests. You’re – very attractive men. I don’t have to sign a weird contract or anything, right?”

Seth laughs. “No, course not. And if it’s not working for you, you can back out. Just like any relationship, except with more people in it.”

“Then I agree.” AJ gives Seth a smile, and Roman as well. When she looks back to Dean, he’s smiling, too. It’s kind of weird, because most of the time when he smiles it just looks kind of like he’s gone off the deep end, but this one’s just. A smile.

“What now?” she asks, after a moment of silence. “If I don’t have to sign anything in blood.”

“Now, it’s getting late, and we all have to leave early tomorrow for SmackDown.” Dean glances toward a watch on his wrist. “So you should probably get back to your room and get some sleep. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Right. I almost forgot.” AJ’s a little disappointed that she won’t manage any sexy shenanigans tonight, but it really is a long drive tomorrow to get to the next show, and she’ll regret it if she doesn’t get any sleep.

When she stands up, she’s amused to note that so does Dean, and Seth nearly scrambles off the bed in a heap in order to do so as well. Roman moves more languidly. She has an entourage on her way to the door, and it makes her muffle a giggle.

AJ’s not a very tall person, so she’s used to having to look up in order to look people in the eye. She’s not so used to Roman Reigns, who is so very very tall that it makes her feel even shorter than she usually does. He quirks an eyebrow at her, and then leans down to kiss her on the cheek. His beard is very scratchy, and before he can pull away too much, she returns the kiss, his cheek prickly against her lips. She likes it. Dolph has stubble, but he never has an actual beard. It’s new.

“Night,” he says, with a smile. He retreats back to the bed he was on when she came in, reclining on it and keeping an eye on them.

Seth’s next, and he kisses her head, his hair like two curtains hanging to shield her face. She can’t return this one, because he’s too tall for her to be able to reach his head, but she can kiss his chin, and does. He seems endeared by it, anyway.

“Sleep well,” says Seth, one of his knuckles stroking her jaw. He still seems a little sleepy, and he gives her a kiss on the cheek as well before he returns to Roman on the bed, tucking himself in and promptly, it seems, falling back to sleep.

Dean doesn’t bother with subtleties. He looks at her, tilts his head in question, and when she nods, he leans down and kisses her, one hand settling at the curve of her waist.

AJ’s kissed a lot of people. She’s not ashamed of it. She likes kissing and she likes being kissed. She’s encountered people who had no idea what they were doing, and people who tried to shove their tongue down her throat, and people who thought that to kiss someone properly you had to only use your lips.

Dean Ambrose doesn’t kiss like any of those people. He doesn’t hold back, but he doesn’t try to choke her with his mouth, either. It’s just a nice kiss. His breath tastes like mint, and his lips are soft. 

He strokes her hair behind her ear when the kiss breaks, and quietly says, “Sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams,” she returns, her fingers tight on the strap of her bag. She slips out the door, and she’s pretty sure he watches her go, because it takes her four steps before she hears the click of the latch.

It’s been a really weird day. AJ can’t wait to get back to their room. She’s got a hell of a story to tell her diary.


End file.
